Over the last three years, it seems there have been more changes at Disney than we can count!
Splash Mountain’s Closing Day
With rides and attractions leaving forever (goodbye, Splash Mountain ?), new ones arriving, and several changes made when it comes to park and attraction reservation systems, Disney park-goers are highly opinionated on several new additions (and take-aways.)
Among the most controversial is Disney’s new park pass reservation system! We asked YOU for your opinion on the matter — and your responses were just as polarized as we expected.
Park Reservation System on January 3, 2023 ©Disney
Starting in 2020, Disney required guests with park passes to make reservations to specific parks prior to their arrival. Park reservations were available on a first-come, first-serve basis, so the spontaneity of a Disney trip became a thing of the past.
Guests could no longer enter a park of their choosing the day of their visit, and many began grabbing reservations to whatever park was available at the time and then park hopping to their desired park after 2 PM — which left them feeling like half their day was spent merely waiting.
You can take the monorail to Park Hop from Magic Kingdom to EPCOT.
When we asked our readers whether or not Disney should keep the current park reservation system, many of you shared that it needed to GO!
DFB reader Marc agreed that the reservation system should be done away with and said, “It’s gotten out of hand. They have ruined the magic and spontaneity of park hopping!”
Jane agreed and said “You can’t be spontaneous.”
Guests see more crowds when using the monorail once Park Hop is available.
While many others agree with Marc and Jane that the park pass reservation system causes a loss of that magical spontaneity, several other readers found that the system made no difference.
Mark, another DFB reader said, “Doesn’t matter. If you know how to plan, [park reservations] make no difference.”
Ellen agreed with those who didn’t mind the system and said, “Keep it. It’s not hard and helps even out the crowds.”
Not too bad!
It seems that many of you don’t mind the reservation system because of the fact that the crowds are more evenly distributed throughout the four parks, especially on days when special events and festivals are taking place. However, even those of you who don’t mind the reservation system DO mind the park hopping hours.
Park Hopping Line at Disneyland
Guests with eligible tickets are able to park hop beginning at 2 PM each day.
Tristan, another DFB reader said, “I don’t mind the park reservation but the park hopping not till 2 PM has got to go. Even if they make it 12 noon it would be better, in my opinion.”
Several agreed with Tristan, saying Disney should keep the park reservation system but allow eligible park guests to hop to a different park earlier in the day. This way, crowds would still be evenly distributed and the old spontaneity of a trip to Disney would remain. Many of you feel that an earlier park hop time would allow you to do more with your day in the parks.
Evenly distributed reservations = lower crowds !
We know that the park reservation system and park hopping can be frustrating at times, but it doesn’t have to be! Here at DFB, we try to make your trip much easier by explaining how the park reservation system works, how to use Genie+, and even make advance dining reservations!
If you have an upcoming trip to Disney, we’ve put together a complete guide in e-book format that gives you all the Disney tips and tricks you could ever need! Use code WDW2023 for 25% off our DFB Guide to Dining at Walt Disney World.
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What do you think of the park reservation system? Let us know in the comments!
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I don’t think passholders need to make reservations to different parks. We should hop whenever we want. Would be a great incentive for us.
I somewhat understood Disney buying into the ridiculous Covid lockdown hype park res system but that’s LONG GONE. How is it the parks functioned fine before all this mess but that can’t now???
I do not believe that the park pass system is a problem for people who are traveling to a Disney park for a Vacation. Those people are already planning months to years in advanced. While the local community members are the one with the most issues. They do not have option to just take a last minute day at the parks or a weekend get away. But in my own opinion i think that the system is not necessary for non pass holders. Those tickets are already date based. Your ticket purchase along with selecting your dates should guarantee your entry. As a pass holder I understand why Disney tries to limit the number of pass holders per day. With having thousands of pass holders the parks could hit capacity with out letting any day ticket holders into the parks.
Having to have park passes for every park is a pain when planing from overseas. It means I have to choose particular days to be in particular parks, instead of just getting tickets and deciding on the day what park to go to. From all the vlogs, it has made no difference to crowd levels.
Something that throws a kink in a MK day or a day at Studios is the after hour events. If we don’t have park hopper we are stuck with a reservation in a park with shortened hours or where capacity grows exponentially.